1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in field planting devices.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Generally, most planting mechanisms consist of an open backed plant containment shoe which can produce inaccurately placed plants. This can be remedied by the use of xe2x80x9cguillotinexe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9csaloonxe2x80x9d type doors as shown in co-pending International Patent Application No. PCT/AU97/00893 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/603,268.
Use of these doors requires complicated electronics and pneumatics and many moving parts.
The purpose of this invention is to eliminate as many moving parts as possible and to simplify the way that plants are planted.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a field planting device adapted to pass along a ground furrow into which plants are to be sequentially placed during a planting operation, said device including:
a plant receiving tube defining at least an upper portion of a tubular internal space adapted to receive and hold in an upright condition a plant to be planted, with a root mass plug of said plant in a lower portion of said space and foliage of said plant in the upper portion of the space, the space being partly defined by rear internal walls on laterally opposing sides of an upright rearwardly facing slot through which slot the plant passes when being ejected during a planting operation; and
a plant eject mechanism including a pusher member actuated by a drive means, the pusher member adapted to engage both the foliage and the root mass plug of the plant when the pusher member is moved rearwardly and to eject the plant through the slot.
Preferably, the pusher member includes at least one pair of foliage engaging surfaces adapted to engage the plant foliage during ejection of the plant, each of said pair of foliage engaging surfaces extending transversely outwardly in an opposite direction from the other of said pair and each of said pair extending in a rearward direction, and wherein at least a part of each said pair of surfaces traverses the said internal space during ejection of the plant.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a field planting device including:
a support frame member having an upright plant receiving tube releasably connected to a rearward end region of the support frame member;
a planting shoe member releasably connected to a lower end of said plant receiving tube with a rearward end of said planting shoe member being configured to form a lower extension of said plant receiving tube;
a pusher means;
drive means for effecting fore and aft movement of said pusher means relative to said support frame member;
said pusher means including an upper section adapted in use to move at least partially through the plant receiving tube and a lower section adapted in use to move at least partially through the lower extension of said plant receiving tube formed in said shoe member thereby to eject a plant from said plant receiving tube.
The unique capabilities of the field planting shoe as disclosed hereinafter include:
The ability to mechanically contain a plant and keep it in a vertical position prior to and during the plant eject cycle without additional moving containment doors.
The ability to enable the positioning and planting of small short plants (e.g. lettuce) through to tall large plants (e.g. broccoli and cabbage).
One mechanical action of plant ejection serves four functions:
1. The eject mechanism in this invention pushes the plug from the containment area precisely into the soil;
2. The eject mechanism accurately holds the plug in position;
3. The eject mechanism centralizes the plant foliage and folds it inwardly to a centrally aligned vertical slot and expels the plug precisely vertical;
4. The eject mechanism engages on the foliage of both short and long plants therefor eliminating the need for different ejection devices for different types of plants.
The planting shoe is self cleaning.
The complete mechanism is modular in construction, allowing quick easy disassembly and re-assembly with the minimum of tools required.